Dates August 22–28, 2011 Winning time 20h 00' 24" | Stages 7 Winner Levi Leipheimer (USA) | |
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Second Christian Vande Velde (USA) Third Tejay van Garderen (USA) | ||
The 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was the inaugural edition of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage race. The race was held from August 22–28, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI America Tour. The race began with a short prologue time trial in Colorado Springs, wound its way through the Rocky Mountains at heights of up to 12,000 feet (3,700 m), and finished in the streets of downtown Denver.
Contents
Participating teams
Included in the participating team rosters were the top three 2011 Tour de France riders Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck. The full team list included:
Prologue
August 22, 2011 — Colorado Springs, 5.18 miles (8.34 km)
The opening time trial for the race began in the Garden of the Gods national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.
Stage 1
August 23, 2011 — Salida to Crested Butte, 99.4 miles (160.0 km)
The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending 11,315 feet (3,449 m) over Monarch Pass and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of Mount Crested Butte.
Stage 2
August 24, 2011 — Gunnison to Aspen, 131.1 miles (211.0 km)
The queen stage involved nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of 12,126 feet (3,696 m) Cottonwood Pass, and 12,095 feet (3,687 m) to Independence Pass.
Stage 3
August 25, 2011 — Vail, 10 miles (16 km)
Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with 1,783 feet (543 m) of climbing over only 10 miles (16 km). The route was the same one used during time trials for the Coors Classic in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by Ben Day.
Stage 4
August 26, 2011 — Avon to Steamboat Springs, 82.8 miles (133.3 km)
This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.
Stage 5
August 27, 2011 — Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, 105.2 miles (169.3 km)
Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended Rabbit Ears Pass, a steep pass with about 15 miles (24 km) of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.
Stage 6
August 28, 2011 — Golden to Denver, 73.79 miles (118.75 km)
The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film American Flyers. Riders climbed Lookout Mountain, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC.